Moving Forward
by mishmodia
Summary: College AU: After moving across the city of Tokyo, Kagome is forced to go to a new college after being evicted from her apartment. As she struggles to find her way, regain her confidence, and love again, she finds herself running into someone who changes her, and himself for the better. If only she hadn't met him by spilling her coffee all over him... InuKag Rated T for now.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, the series is owned by Rumiko Takahashi. Only the storyline is mine.

Chapter 1

"Come now, I'm sure it's all gonna' be fine." Miroku poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot that had probably been sitting there since about 7 this morning. He always had it times to start before he got up. Kagome shifted her weight from one foot to another, looking at her feet. "It's a fresh start." Her roommate said happily, giving a playful shove towards the door.

"I hate fresh starts..." She sighed and pulled her messenger bag over her neck and let it rest on one side of her shoulder. It tugged at her scarf and almost choked her so she readjusted.

He raised a brow. "Maybe if you hadn't gotten evicted from your last apartment-"

"Bye!" She closed the door and scurried off, choosing not to face her failure. Miroku only laughed as she left, embarrased and sour about her previous situation.

Renting a 1 bedroom apartment wasn't the best idea, especially at the fresh age of 19. No stable work environment and no stable boyfriend. She worked in a small coffee stand with her boyfriend of 6 months, just starting college, when everything went to shit. Her rent was raised, he boyfriend left, and it was almost a new year, which meant more books she had to pay for. After already beginning to drown in loans for college along with taking on 1500 in rent, it wasn't the easiest task. So her friend across the large city of Tokyo was willing to let her crash. She really didn't mind the small room.

Miroku and his girlfriend Sango were very understanding of the situation, but liked to poke a little fun. Kagome heaved a sigh and continued her walk to the bus station, idly playing on her phone as she walked.

Kagome smirked, glad she had chosen to take 11 o' clock classes since she only had to get up at 9, whereas back at her old place she had to get up at 7. Early classes were never a good idea, and neither were late ones, so right in the middle was fine. Gave her enough time to stop into the local cafe to grab a drink for the road. Having recently applied for the bakery down the road from the apartment she was staying at, she was very antsy as to if they enjoyed her during the interview.

"I'll just have a medium coffee with room." She said, handing over her card for them to swipe, leaving some money in the tip jar.

It smelled nice and it was very warm in her hands as she carried it to add sugar and cream. She always did this herself because she liked to be particular with her drink. 2 sugar packets to sweeten, and only enough cream to make it a darker chocolate color. Taking a sip, she happily sighed, taking in the fall air as she walked back outside, making it to the bus station in a couple minutes.

It was a calm commute, except for the fact that she started to doze off a couple times. The bus was crowded, with a bunch of chatter, but nobody knocked her coffee out of her hands, and she was able to have at least an arms length of space in her seat. She stood once again after about an hour of being on the bus, beginning to walk out, unsure of her surroundings. She's only visited the school once or twice with Miroku, but the large amount of college kids around her were kind of a give away that she was close.

She lingered near a couple of girls who were chattering since one was wearing a sweatshirt representing her college. She was probably best to stay close to. Kagome kept a few steps back though, so she didn't look creepy or anything.

"And that's the last time I ever took jello shots." The girl in front of her said after finishing some long story. Her friend laughed, and Kagome only smirked. College kids were an interesting bunch.

As she had reached the actual college, she strayed away from them, knowing where she was now. Where her first class was, though? Not so much.

It's not that Kagome was socially awkward or anything. She never had a hard time making friends really. She was just a bit shy, and being at such a big school made her a little queazy. But the nervousness would pass eventually, and she did have Eri here. Ayami was on an international study trip in Europe, and Yuka was off in America, going to some school in the states. They video chatted sometimes, but it wasn't the same as high school.

Eri was the only one going to Tokyo University with her, while the others were on the other side at her old school or in the States. Even Hojo was back at her old school. Luckily college was bigger than high school, and there were more opportunities to meet people. But she didn't really enjoy doing it.

She found herself idly walking, looking at the map on her phone, trying to understand the layout of this school.

Before she knew it, she felt her coffee slip out of her hands and onto the ground, along with her phone. Kagome squealed as she fell, but caught herself, standing upright, looking at the mess on the ground. More importantly, on a pair of shoes.

"You've gotta' be kiddin' me!" The voice above her shouted. She stepped backward and looked up with pleading eyes, only to meet a set of brownish gold ones.

"Ah!" Her cheeks were dusted with a light pink and she flailed to grab her phone, placing it in her pocket, while reaching in her bag to grab a hankerchief, trying to dab at the mess on his shoes. "I'm so sorry!" She grabbed the cup, throwing it in a nearby trashcan. It was too late for his shoes though.

She looked back to the boy standing in front of her, scowling. Long black hair cascaded to his mid back, and he was no taller than 6 foot. As he crossed his arms, he sighed. "Just watch where you're going, got it?" He asked, taking a look back to her brown orbs.

"U-Uh yeah. Yeah I'm sorry."

"You already said that."

"Oh, yeah, sor-I mean, yeah." She looked down, putting her hankerchief back in her bag. "I can pay for your shoes or something..."

"Don't bother." He said, readjusting his school bag on his shoulder.

"Um... My name's Kagome." She held out her hand, still flustered. "Might as well introduce myself to the guy who's shoes I just ruined."

He looked at her hand and then back at her, before giving a quick 'Hmpf'. "Inuyasha." He said.

This caught Kagome off guard and she cocked her head. "What an interesting name."

"It's from some famous anscestor back in the feudal era. My mom named me after him." He said, looking to the side, still looking irritated.

"Oh! I read about him." She smiled. "A half dog demon, half human! He helped a local priestess keep the Shikon No Tama safe while defeating big demons." She said animatedly, earning a weird look from him. "I... studied the feudal era for project last year."

"I can tell." He said.

She took in the dark red jacket he wore over a black t-shirt with a pair of black jeans, and his now brown shoes. "I should probably go..." She murmured awkwardly, knowing she shouldn't be having a conversation with a guy she just spilled coffee all over. "Sorry again, though."

He nodded and began to walk away before she turned around after he walked past. "I owe you a coffee, though!" She called, causing him to look back and smirk for a second before scoffing as he left.

She finally found her first class in the farthest building away from where she was, but she still had a minute to spare. Catching a seat next to some random guy, she unpacked her notebook and a pencil, ready to start.

xxxx

"So..." Miroku said awkwardly as Kagome quietly ate her food across the table from him, Sango sitting on another side of the table.

"How did your first day go?" His girlfriend asked, leaning her elbows on the table.

"It was terrible." She said with a hefty sigh. "I dropped coffee all over some guys shoes, and I already have an essay to work on." Finishing up what she could from her plate, she stood. "I'm just gonna go lay down. I really don't wanna' talk right now."

 _'How am I gonna' do this?'_ She thought as her head rested on her pillow, as if her bad energy seeped into the fibers. Kagome wasn't very used to being alone. She either had her gaggle of high school friends, or a boyfriend, or her family, and now all she had were a couple friends and a new town. Letting sleep consume her, the face that came in her dream for some reason was that boy with the gold and brown eyes. Inuyasha was his name...

xxxx

 **AN: Sorry the first chapter was short, I'll try to keep them all a little longer once the story progresses. Favorite and Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Inuyasha, and it is owned by Rumiko Takahashi. I just own the story.**

Chapter 2

"Thank you so much, Eri. You don't know how much I appreciate this!" Kagome thanked excitedly as Eri handed her an apron, adorning the bakery name on it. Eri's uncle and aunt owned the bakery, and Eri was the one who actually got her into an interview in the first place.

"It's no big deal, but next time I don't have enough money for coffee, I have this to hold over your head." The young girl joked, darting into the back shortly after with Kagome to give her a quick run down on how the systems worked. Kagome had already had lots of baking experience so this wasn't quite a big job.

As Kagome helped her friend take a couple of cookie sheets out of the oven, her friend gave Kagome a quick side-eye. "So... Have you talked to Takumi?"

"I don't think this is a conversation we should have..." The raven-haired girl gave a small and nervous giggle, but shook her head when that answer wasn't good enough. "I haven't."

"Good. That jerk doesn't deserve your voice in his life." Eri defiantly stated, grabbing an icing bag for her and Kagome, beginning the decorations on the cookies that had just come out. She looked at the now distraught girl and heaved an exasperated sigh. "Don't be so down about him! He doesn't matter."

Six months wasn't a lot to some people, but Kagome had known the guy for all of two years before they started dating, and he was a really good guy. 'A good guy on the outside, at least.' Kagome silently chided herself as she started icing a cookie, the sweet blue pouring into the shape of flower. "I'm not down." She said quietly. "It's just weird to talk about."

"You'll find someone soon who isn't a nasty cheater soon. I mean you're in a new school, with some new people, and you're in a new apartment so his gross stench isn't lingering. Except for that damn sweatshirt you still have." Eri pointed to the grey sweatshirt hanging on the coat rack. Kagome had worn it due to the fact that it was slightly cold today.

"It's laundry day!" Said girl protested as she heard a ringing bell from the outside.

"Yeah right. Let's go help that customer." Eri led her friend out, and Kagome followed, but stopped short at the door with an angry look on her face.

"What are you doing here?!" Kagome looked at her roommate, crossing her arms.

"I just came to see you on your first day on the job! Is that so wrong?" Miroku asked. "Wow, your friend is prettier than I imagined." He gave a small bow to Eri. "It's very nice to meet you. Tell me, how did I manage to find the prettiest girl on th-" He was cut short by being pulled on by the ear by his girlfriend who had walked in the door.

"You disgusting disgusting man." Sango pulled Miroku towards the door and gave a quick apology to Eri. "You're waiting outside!" She pushed Miroku out, and walked back up to the counter. "Kagome, how's your first day going?" Her other roommate asked, taking a look at all the sweets available.

"It's been fine. Nothing I haven't really done before." Kagome gave a small smile as Eri wandered to the back to finish icing the cookies.

"Good to hear. I'm glad you have a job at something your good at!" Sango said, genuinely happy for her friend. "I'll grab the pig out there one of those chocolate cupcakes." She said, pointing to one with a cute little cat design on it.

Kagome nodded and scrambled to find the boxes, finally finding a small one to put it in. "Here ya go!" She rang Sango up before waving goodbye as the girl left, dragging Miroku behind her as she saw through the window. What a couple.

Having finished her day at around 6, she walked with Eri back home before beginning to walk back to hers. It had been quite a couple of stressful days, and the big school was definitely becoming easier to navigate. And she hadn't spilled any coffee on anyone else, so that was a plus.

Kagome placed her earbuds in and quietly hummed a song as she passed by a local park, taking a quick detour to sit on a bench and listen to nothing but her music.

No matter how fresh the start, the thoughts from before still lingered in her mind. She felt quite stupid for letting this all happen to her. But maybe it was her fault for not noticing that her boyfriend was dating another girl. Another girl who was found in her apartment on the couch with her boyfriend, doing some stuff she wouldn't really care to think about.

 _"W-What are you doing home so early, Kag?!" He asked, pushing this small brunette girl off of him, who landed on the other side of the couch with a thud._

 _Kagome stood in the doorway with wide eyes, and her bag fell on the ground as she looked at Takumi. "W-What are you..." She felt tears brim in her eyes, but she didn't let them pass. "What are you doing with this girl on my couch?" She asked, keeping her voice as steady as possible. "We..." She looked around. "I thought we..." Heaving a sigh, she grabbed her bag and threw it at a chair behind her as she stomped into the house, opening their room. The girl had run out almost a minute or so before Kagome had walked in._

 _A large duffel bag was thrown into the living room, and Kagome stood, crossing her arms. "I want you to be leave." Her voice shook as she said this, but she kept strong._

 _"Kag, Kagome... please!" He jumped up and grabbed her shoulders. "Please don't do this. It was a stupid mistake!"_

 _She gave a small chuckle. "That's my couch!" She yelled. "You cheated on me, in our own apartment, on the fucking couch!" Pushing him away, she kicked the bag at him._

 _"Maybe this wouldn't all have happened if you weren't so angry all the time!" Takumi yelled back, crossing his arms as well, mimicking her stance. He was referring to the rougher times theyd been experiencing. Petty fights and small arguments._

 _She was flabbergasted. "Is there any logic in 'well Kagome is always mad because I do nothing for this fucking apartment so maybe the best idea would be to cheat on her'! Well you definitely showed me who's boss, Takumi. Good work."_

 _"Please Kagome..."_

 _"What was her name?" She asked, leaning on a wall._

 _"Matsume." He answered quietly, looking towards the door for a second._

 _"Matsume and Takumi, it has a ring to it." She gave him a fake smile. "You can be with her now. I'm letting you free. Now you don't have to fight over who forgot to empty the dishwasher. I know that argument must have been traumatizing for you."_

 _He stepped forward, grabbing her face and kissing her passionately. She felt her tears fall in small streams down her red face. This went on for a couple minutes, kissing, his hands trailing over her body before he disconnected their lips, pulling her to his chest. "Kagome..." He hugged her so tightly as if she'd fly away._

 _"We had plans together." She mumbled, pulling away._

 _He kissed her again and put his forehead to her, looking into her eyes. "We still can, Kagome. I want a life with you, you know that. This was a stupid mistake."_

 _She looked at his eyes, and smirked, putting her hands on his chest, pushing him with a force. "I'm going to bed. You and your things are gone by morning."_

 _Kagome didn't sleep that night, and just closed her eyes, but was scared of what her nightmares would be that night, so she stayed awake, just looking at the back of her eyelids. He shuffled around the house, putting his things in his bag, grabbing his suitcase as well, putting his things there as well. Kagome's name was the one on the apartment lease, so he was rightfully the one to leave. And at about midnight, he left._

 _And she cried. It was at that moment that she lost her faith in love._

The bench began to feel wet, and the rain fell more heavily as she stood quickly, making a run for home.

It wasn't long before she tripped into a small puddle, wiping out on the pavement. Kagome sat on her butt, clutching her knee as she grumbled in pain.

"You're really that clumsy, huh?" She heard behind her, turning with a scowl to see that same boy from the other day.

"What's it to you?" She asked, not feeling like dealing with snarky comments. This guy was bad news and she knew it.

"I'm just observin'." He said, crossing his arms. "You look pretty pathetic down there."

She stood quickly, biting her tongue from yelling at the guy. "I didn't spill anything on you this time, so leave me alone." She said.

"Maybe if you weren't such a klutz I wouldn't be pointing this out to you!" He bit back, turning around.

The two had one class together, and she hadn't put thought into talking to the guy due to his snarky attitude. And why was a guy like this in a creative writing class anyways?

She began to walk away as well when Inuyasha reached into his school bag, pulling out a band-aid, turning around and giving it to her. "Here." He said, putting it in her hands before beginning to walk away. "Can't have you bleeding everywhere."

She raised an eyebrow and looked at it before looking at him. He was walking away. "Th-thanks." She mumbled before lifting the hem of her skirt slightly to place the bandaid on, throwing the wrapper in a nearby trash can. He was on the same road Kagome had been travelling but he took a left instead of keeping straight like she did.

And on that weird note, she wandered back home covered in rain at this point. Miroku and Sango was sitting down at the table having a meal. "You look like a mess!" Sango shot up and grabbed a towel from a closet, handing it to Kagome, who only gave a small sneeze in response. "And now you're gonna' get sick..." The girl said, patting Kagome quickly on the back.

"No, I'll be fine. I'm just gonna' go take a bath." The drenched girl said, stalking off back to the hallway where the small bathroom was.

Once finished, she slipped into a soft robe and tied it at the front, grabbing her wet clothes to place them in the laundry. For some reason, she kept noticing that Inuyasha happened to be popping up everywhere. They kept coincidentally seeing each other. He wasn't a kind soul either, which made it annoying whenever they crossed paths. On their second day of class, he kept the empty seat next to his desk occupied with a backpack, causing Kagome to sit in the very back. Oh how she missed assigned seating in high school.

She dinked around on her laptop for awhile, still caught up in the thoughts of when she was previously reminiscing. After about a month without Takumi, she wasn't able to come up with the money to afford rent. And what does any stingy landlord do about this?

 _"Evicted?!" Miroku shouted on his end of the phone line._

 _"Yeah..." Kagome sighed. "This is crazy." She said, with a hint of sadness in her voice as tears fell down her cheeks, getting her phone wet. "What am I gonna do?" The distraught girl sat on the floor leaning on the wall for support as she kept reading the same red fonted 'eviction' on her letter that was shoved under her door._

 _"You can come stay with Sango and I, we'd be happy to have you. And we have the office that we can turn into a spare bedroom for you."_

 _"I don't know Miroku... What about my school? And I don't wanna impose..."_

 _"We'd be happy to have you, as I said! And you can study at Tokyo university, the tuition is cheaper and there's a good international study program available as well!"_

 _The international part had swayed Kagome almost instantly, along with the cheaper tuition. She always wanted to go to the states, anyways._

And that's how she ended up on this side of the big city, staying with some close friends. She had met Miroku a long time ago when they were neighbors as children. Him ten and her seven. He was always able to lift her spirits.

Kagome heaved the heaviest sigh she'd probably ever had, Kagome knew she needed to stop thinking about the past for one day. She needed to meet people. And she knew how she was gonna' start.

She was gonna' get coffee with that arrogant black haired boy, and she was gonna' try and make some friends. Even if she had to swallow her pride and try to make this angry boy nice.

xxx

 **AN: Hey guys, a little bit longer of a chapter here. I've got some good ideas in store for this story, but definitely leave a review of what you'd like to see or some ideas you may have.**

 **Favorite, review, and have a lovely day!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 _"I... I don't understand. How could you... fall in love with me?" The young girl said, face flushed with a hand to her face._

 _"Because, don't you see?" He said, pushing her hair from her eyes. "You're beautiful, and have always been everything in a woman that I've wanted." His silver hair shone in the light, and the small dog ears on his head lowered. "Is... is there something wrong with that?"_

 _"N-No! Not at all! I- I'm in love with you too." She said, grabbing onto his right hand._

 _"The only issue is..." He looked away. "Why would you want to be with a demon, like me?" He asked. "I'm just askin' for trouble."_

 _She smirked. "Maybe I like trouble."_

"Barf." Kagome said. "Absolute barf." Eri chuckled as Kagome made a sour face at her paper. "But It's supposed to be a short story with two genres we were given. I just happened to get fantasy and romance."

"Well that's a cheesy cheesy romantic story." Her friend made fun of her, causing to Kagome to flush red. "But anything for a good grade, right? So where'd this character come from. He sounds like a freak."

"I dunno', just thought him up." She shrugged. "Can we talk about something other than this now?" Kagome laughed off her friend and got to putting her apron away for the day.

"Yeah yeah..." Eri giggled, throwing out her nasty paper towel, putting away the disinfectant. "How about we go to the mall this weekend?" she asked, taking her apron off as well as she grabbed the bakery keys.

"I could do that. Sounds good." Kagome said, walking towards the door. "I'll be seeing you!" She called, exiting the building, heading towards home.

As she followed along the road leading back to the apartment she shared with her friends, thankful that the rain had not decided to drench her. Her ears perked up when she heard loud yells.

"You damn ingrates!" It came from the nearby cemetery?

And was that...?

"I said **GET OUT OF HERE**!" He yelled again, and as Kagome peered around the corner of a tree, a couple of boys were running away in fear. Away from the source of the blood coming from their noses.

"He's scary!" One boy said.

"You've got that right!" And then the two were gone, headed for the quickest way out of there. Kagome looked away from the boys, and towards the cemetery, catching a glimpse of Inuyasha. He was standing in front of a gravestone, looking down with a look of sadness that she could see.

"It's okay." He said finally after what seemed like a lifetime of silence. "Everything is fine. This'll wash off easily." It seemed he was talking to the gravestone. "I'm sorry... I wish I'd come sooner, mother." Inuyasha heaved a sigh, putting the flowers he had the ground next to the gravestone as he tried his best to wipe it off with his hands. The profane graffiti began to rub away since it was still wet, but he would have to come back for it tomorrow.

Kagome walked out from behind the tree, still far but in seeing distance. She felt her lip quiver and almost teared up at how sad the sight was. Walking forward, she kneeled next to him, causing him to look over, startled. She reached into her bag and pulled out her water bottle, looking at him and giving a small smile as she began to pour water over the stone, watching the wet paint wash away with it. "Some people..." She began, grabbing her hankerchief to wipe the rest away. It came off easily and Inuyasha just watched. Kagome looked back at him. "Some people don't get it."

Inuyasha stared at her for another second, confused by this odd kindness he was given, unsure of how to take it. He wiped the very last bit of paint of the 'Z' in Izayoi before giving a small 'keh' as he stood up. "What the hell do you know? And were you watching that whole time?" He looked away, crossing his arms.

"Losing someone is hard." She avoided his last question, and stayed kneeled in front of the grave, giving a small bow towards it. "Losing a parent is really... it's something." She said, and then looked up at him. "It's nice that you came to visit her, though."

He sighed. Of course she heard if she knew it was his mom. "Whatever." He said. "It's nothin'."

"Okay." She responded quietly. She could tell he wasn't much the type to show emotion. "I'm sorry for your loss." The raven-haired girl said, standing and placing the flowers he'd set aside back onto the grave site, beginning to walk away. "Have a good night." She parted ways from his still figure, beginning to exit the cemetery.

"Thanks, Kagome." She heard him mumble as she left, giving a smile. And then she was gone.

"You're back late, again." Miroku observed as Kagome walked through the front door. It was only nine o' clock, but she had gotten off work awhile earlier.

"Oh I was just doing some studying at the library." The younger girl smiled, waving it off. "What's that?" She asked, pointing to his face which had a faint hand print on it.

Miroku smiled sheepishly, putting a hand on it and laughing. "Well I was on the way home from work and-"

"And I caught the pig flirting with some woman." Sango emerged from the bathroom in her robe with her hair put up under a towel. She was obviously annoyed.

Kagome put her hands on her hips and scowled at Miroku. "Miroku, you have GOT to stop doing that. You're gonna lose a good woman like Sango." Sango only giggled and shook her head at the bickering.

"It wasn't my fault!" He stood and walked towards Sango and her. "It's just a habit."

Sango scoffed and Miroku feigned an upset pout, but still smiled when he pulled up Sango's chin to to kiss her. Sango blushed a bright red and Kagome only giggled. She really didn't like public displays of attention. "Miroku!" She pushed him off.

"Oh, right. I'll save it for later." He joked, rubbing the back of his head as Sango retreated to their room in an embarrassed huff. Miroku waved a quick goodnight and followed after her. "Come on, Sango!" He called after, soon behind the closed door of their room.

Kagome walked to the fridge and pulled out the leftovers that were there from the night before and ate a little bit before going back to her room. A lot of thoughts were racing through her head. About how different and out of place she felt in this town. She didn't know why, and she just assumed it was because college is all about finding yourself, and meeting new people. But so far, she wasn't doing too well in the friend department. But she had Eri, and that was good.

She couldn't sleep. It was way too late, and all she did to fight it was to squirm and toss and turn in her bed. Every time she closed her eyes and began to doze, she could feel nightmares coming and had to jerk herself awake. Finally, it was too hard to stay awake.

 _Kagome rushed home. She couldn't stop running and just ran and ran down the road. Her teacher had tried to stop her, but she couldn't. She knew the phone call was urgent and when her 3rd grade teacher looked at Kagome with sad eyes, about to send her to the counselor's office to wait to get picked up. But Kagome knew._

 _"Mom!" She yelled as she bounded up the steps of the shrine, making her way past a couple of cops that were trying to secure the place, and when she passed, not paying attention to their yells, she saw her mom, running alongside the men that were carrying her father on a gurney._

 _"Please!" Her mother sobbed and yelled, trying to stop the men. "Answer me, Hitomi! Please!"_

 _"What happened?" a vocie behind young Kagome asked, within the crowd of whispering people._

 _"There was a car crash. Mr. Higurashi climbed up the steps and Mrs. Higurashi saw him and called an ambulance." The other voice said. "They weren't able to save him."_

 _Kagome froze and saw her Grandpa holding baby Souta, with tears running down his face as he spotted Kagome. He walked over and grabbed her hand. "Kagome, we must go inside."_

 _"Daddy!" She screamed, trying to pry herself free, as her grandfather bit back more tears, trying to get her to leave the site._

 _"Kagome please, we must leave. Please!" Kagome wasn't listening, and Souta was screaming at all the noises, crying and whining to her Grandpa._

 _"Why did this happen?!" Kagome cried. "Why Daddy!?"_

 _Another man was sitting on one of the steps, next to a paramedic. He had a couple scratches on his face. "I... I wasn't even... I didn't even see the man until it was over. I'll never forgive myself. I can't..." He sobbed into his hands, and looked back across the shrine grounds. Kagome ripped her hand free from her grandpa and saw the man. She knew he was the one who did it._

 _Tears flew down her face as she walked towards the man, who couldn't even look at the girl._

 _"Kagome!" Her grandpa yelled, but knew it was no use._

 _The young child finally stopped next to the man and continued to cry, not able to surpress the tears no matter how strong of a face she tried to keep. Sobs kept coming from her. She saw him crying too and pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, handing it to the man._

 _The man stared in shock at her, and then Kagome before grabbing her and pulling her into a hug. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry! Please, I'm so sorry!"_

 _Her grandpa came over shortly after the man had let Kagome go, and he held out his hand for Kagome, who hesitantly grabbed it before she walked away with him, looking once more at the man sobbing into her favorite handkerchief._

She woke in a cold sweat, shivering and jerking in fear as she studied her surroundings, realizing she was in a bed. Her bed. In her and Miroku and Sango's apartment. She wasn't in the third grade, and she wasn't at the scene of the accident. Yet even still, she cried as though she was right there. Just quietly so the others didn't hear.

These dreams came a few times a month, and every time, they made her have the same reaction. After about twenty minutes, Kagome had calmed down, and laid back down, watching the ceiling until she was able to fall back to sleep for the next couple hours before she had to get up.

She hadn't had any more bad dreams that night.

xxx

She trudged through the college grounds, tired from her long, long night. All she wanted to do was crawl back into bed, but she couldn't exactly do that now that she was here. Kagome decided to come in a little bit early to get a head start on her day, and didn't realize she was almost a half hour early to class.

The school's cafe that smelled on fresh morning pastries and coffee beckoned her to come over, as well as a certain boy she saw sitting at one of the tables alone.

"Inuyasha..." The girl observed, spotting him from across the way. This reminded her. She owed him something.

Inuyasha sat, staring at his lap as he yawned heavily. He'd had a long night as well. Insomnia wasn't a kind friend. He closed his textbook. These words weren't gonna' get through to him at this point of exhaustion.

He thought last night of the time he'd had at the graveyard. He wasn't one to show it, but he was very thankful of Kagome being there. She seemed to be a very caring girl, and definitely didn't have to help him. But she did, and he accepted the help to his dismay, but could do nothing as he watched her. Her eyes were glazed over as she cleaned the gravestone as if she was deep in thought of something.

 _"Losing a parent is really... it's something..."_

She'd probably lost someone too, but he wasn't one to ask about it. Hell he wasn't even friends with the girl. Inuyasha had little interest in making friends.

A cup being placed in front of him drew him out of his daze, and he looked up at the owner of the delicate hand that placed the coffee in front of him. "Oh, it's you." He said as if he was irritated.

"Good mornin'." She said cheerfully, sitting across from him at the small table. "How's it goin'?"

He scoffed, grabbing the coffee. "What's this for?"

"I still owe you, remember?" She asked, smiling as she pointed to his shoes. "After that spill?"

"Yeah, yeah, now I remember." He said. "You didn't actually have to get me a coffee. It wasn't that big of a deal."

"Well you've got coffee in your hand, so you might as well drink up." As she said this, she began to drink some of her own. "So as I was asking earlier, how's it goin'?" She repeated, giggling as he scowled.

"You don't gotta' be so nice to me. It's weird." Inuyasha mumbled into his coffee, embarrassed at the attention she gave him.

"Will you knock it off?" She asked pointedly. "Just lemme' be nice."

"Fine." He responded, causing Kagome to smirk. "Thanks for the drink." Inuyasha wasn't a big coffee person, but he didn't dare tell her.

"You're welcome!" She grinned, leaning her head on her elbows. "How are you after last night? I hope those boys didn't upset you too much. I mean, at least we got it cleaned up before it dried completely."

Inuyasha laughed. "Those guys didn't 'upset' me because I'm not some little wimp!" He fought back defiantly.

"I wasn't calling you a wimp!" She retorted, earning another laugh from Inuyasha.

"Anyone upset by a couple of graffiti-painting scrawny assholes is a wimp." He said back, causing her to smile again.

"I appreciate your confidence." She joked sarcastically. "Just don't let it get to your head."

"Are you sayin' I have a big ego?" He asked with a look of offense.

"I'm saying it could happen." She joked back, crossing her legs as she drank a little more coffee. After about ten minutes, she was able to talk to him about other things, and found him responding back a tiny little bit. She spoke of random things, like a story about how some drunk guy came into the bakery and bought all of the available pastries. That earned a small chuckle and some kind of insult about the guy.

They talked until class was about to start, and he even unconsciously walked her to her first class.

Inuyasha scolded himself mentally as he left her to go inside. When he got carried in conversation, he tended to forget about other things. But Kagome didn't mind the walking buddy.

She started to hope that maybe he just held up some hard shell, and she had the urge to break into it and get to know him. He seemed like he'd be a good friend.

xxx

 **AN: Hey guys, updates won't be as often as they have been so far just cause I side tracked sometimes, but I'll try my best :) Leave me some ideas and favorite and review!**

 **Have a good day, you guys!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of Rumiko Takahashi's work. Only the story.**

 **Chapter 4**

"I think it's cute, I don't know what you hate about it!" Eri shouted as Kagome emerged from the fitting room, mumbling 'I hate it'. Eri had forced her friend to try on a dress that was shown in the window at one of the local mall shops. A dress that was a dark raspberry color, slim fitting with long sleeves and a scoop neck, the dress reaching down to just above her knees.

"I dunno'..." Kagome said, twirling in the mirror.

"Is it because of the price?"

"Maybe..." The girl had a light blush on her cheeks, and she sighed. "Fine fine. I'll get it."

"3000 yen isn't the worst thing in the world, and you have a job, so you'll make up for a little dip into your income." Her friend smiled, grabbing her scarf off her neck, throwing it over Kagome. "See?! Look how cute that is!"

Kagome turned back to the mirror, and looked for a second, taking in how she thought she actually looked really pretty. It wasn't that often that Kagome was able to put time into her looks, and lately, with how much money she'd been losing because of her old apartment, making dinner for two, trying to pay for loans at the same time, it wasn't really possible to think about herself.

Takumi would have loved to see her like this...

 _But he would also like to see his other girlfriend._

Kagome looked down, shaking away her menacing thoughts. She needed to stop thinking about him. "Stop thinking about him." Eri warned, as if she had read his mind.

"You're crazy. I don't know how you do that." Kagome responded, looking back at her friend before walking behind the curtain, returning into her fitting room so she could replace the velvet dress with her grey sweater and dark jeans.

"We've known each other for many years, Kagome, I've come to understand you in that time." Eri answered, standing to grab her purse.

Kagome laced up her boots and retreated back outside the room, dress in hand ready to pay for. "I don't know what I'll wear this for. I don't really do much." The girl laughed, setting it on the counter.

"Well what about that boy you get coffee with in the morning?" Eri teased. "Don't act like I don't know about that."

"I-Inuyasha?!" Kagome flushed red. "Definitely not." She said. "The guys always picking on me, and he's always angry."

"Well, whatever." Eri smirked. "I just wanna' meet him soon."

"Trust me." Kagome handed the employee her debit card before looking at Eri. "You don't."

xxx

"Inuyasha, come on!" Kagome gave an angry growl before snagging her sandwich from his hands. "You always take bites of my food when I use the restroom!" She scolded. "You're like a dog."

"Hey!" Inuyasha crossed his arms. "I'm a guy. Guys eat a lot!" He said. "Unlike you, you barely eat anything, I was surprised you even bought a sandwich."

Kagome mimicked his position and it only made him more irritated, causing her to laugh a little bit. "If you want me to buy you a sandwich, just ask."

"I don't take handouts." He bit back, obviously he didn't like people doing things for him. Must have been a superiority thing.

Kagome got up anyways. "Well I'll get another one... for myself!" She wandered off across the college's large cafeteria, spotting the refridgerator where the sandwiches were kept. As she picked one up, she scoffed at how stubborn he could be. In the two weeks that she'd been finding time to get to know the boy, he had never let her get him anything.

Paying the small amount of money for sandwich was easy, and she began to wander back to the table. But something caused her to stop walking. He was looking at something. Someone. And boy was she gorgeous.

A young girl, around their age sat at a table with a few people, eating and laughing. Her long black hair long surpassed Kagome's reaching to just above the girl's rear. Kagome's was only went to her mid back. The girl obviously didn't visit the hair salon much. She wore a red blouse with small embellishments on it with a pair of light jeans, and she had a porceloin skin tone. She was very beautiful.

Looking back towards Inuyasha, he still looked at her, as if he was longing for something. It only took Kagome a second to notice why. And when she did, she knew what was wrong.

The girl had an arm around her shoulders that belonged to a man that had black hair, waving as it reached well past his shoulders. The couple looked at each other with loving eyes, and he gave her a kiss on the forehead. Who was this girl?

"Here." Kagome said, knocking Inuyasha out of his trance as she handed him the sandwich with a small smile. "They didn't have the type I wanted, so I don't really need this." She lied, sitting back down across from him, looking to where his eyes still lingered. "Who's that?" She asked innocently, looking back to see he had slightly sad eyes.

He lifted his eyes, and hid that emotion when she saw him looking. "Keh, it's nothin' important." Waving her off, Inuyasha dug into the sandwich. "Thanks."

"No problem!" She cheered happily, excited he'd let her give the food to him.

He ate across from her silently, looking up every once in awhile to catch glimpses of the girl. Something told Kagome that she had seen this girl before. She just couldn't place where.

Once they'd exited the cafeteria, he began to walk her to her art class, avoiding that subject for the rest of their conversation. "Are you doing anything after classes today?" She asked, catching his attention.

"Uh, I dunno', probably, not. Why?" He was baffled.

"I was gonna' go to the local library to get a couple things, and I wanted to know if you'd wanna' come with." She said as they took steps through the courtyard ot make it to the next building. Luckily he had a class close to hers so he didn't have to walk far afterwards to make it to class on time.

"Er... Why?"

"Because we're friends?" Kagome cocked an eyebrow.

"Hey, I never agreed to that!" Inuyasha shouted, causing Kagome to giggle.

"Hey, I bought you coffee and a sandwich, and we always eat together. I'd assume that much interaction has gotta' be friendship."

He scoffed. "You're dumb."

"I'm not dumb!" She fought, crossing her arms, looking down. "I just don't have many friends, since I recently moved here. Excuse me for not knowing how to make friends."

Inuyasha saw she looked a little distraught at his comments, and sighed. "Okay okay. If I say we're friends will you stop being pouty? I hate being around sad people." He was a little pink in the face.

She looked up at him and grinned, nodding. "So, library?"

"Yeah, fine." He groaned. "But I'm not promising I'm gonna' like it. Now shoo, class is about to start." He gave her a nudge on the arm since they had reached her class a second later. He didn't want her to be late, and he certainly didn't wanna' be late either.

"Okay, Mr. Pushy!" She giggled, but stopped short when she saw Inuyasha's eyes dart past her.

"Hello, Inuyasha." The feminine voice behind Kagome said quietly. Kagome turned around. It was that girl from earlier!

"H-Hey, Kikyo." The boy stuttered, causing Kagome to look at him with a puzzled look. She'd never seen him get nervous around someone like this.

"I hope all is treating you well." Kikyo said before she looked at Kagome. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Kikyo." She gave a small bow, and Kagome did the same.

"K-Kagome." She replied, giving a quick bow, before Kikyo looked back to Inuyasha.

"I must be heading to my class, but it was nice to see you." The woman smiled, waving to Inuyasha as she walked away.

"N-Nice to see you too." Inuyasha didn't wave or anything as she left, only watched her leave.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome peered up at him, noticing she was probably invisible at the moment. That's how intent his stare was.

"You should be getting to class. Forget that." Inuyasha waved her off.

"You sure?"

"Positive." He answered, giving a small smile. "I gotta' head to mine as well. I'll see you later!" He called, retreating from her side in another direction towards his other class. Kagome sighed and walked in. No matter how close of friends they may ever become, Kagome felt she wouldn't understand him.

"Alright, class!" The teacher stormed in with a grin, setting out the supplies. "I want to see you paint a landscape!"

Kagome sighed and jumped right in, sitting at her stool, pulling a large piece of watercolor paper from her bag, placing it flat on the desk. At least he wasn't starting out with his ten year lecture about how to properly hold a paintbrush. Diving right in, she splashed her brush into the water cup, rubbing it into a dark red, starting in on the fall landscape she wanted to create.

xxx

"This is... er... something." Inuyasha scratched his head, unsure of what to make of the painting.

"It's horrible, I know." Kagome groaned. "My teacher asked if he could take a picture of it to use in a 'how not to paint' tutorial for his students."

"That's rough." Inuyasha held back a chuckle due to the death glare Kagome gave him. "I mean, It's not a great picture if you want me to be honest."

She rubbed her temples before grabbing the painting from him, only to crumple it and throw it in the trash. "As long as my bookwork helps me pass the class, I don't care. I just have to master the whole painting thing." Kagome said with a disappointed look.

"H-Hey! You'll get better. Hopefully." He tried to make her feel better, but she soon shook it off anyways, leading them into the library. "What do you need to get, anyways?"

Kagome grinned ear to ear when she spotted the countless shelves and pages. She'd always been a bookworm, and had always treated a library like a candy store. "Come on!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him through the maze of bookshelves, and he looked down, stunned.

 _Why does she... treat me like this? Like a normal person..._

She let go once she found what she'd been looking for. "I found it." She whispered, picking a book up off the shelf. He peered over her shoulder, reading the name of the hefty history book.

"Are you really that into history?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, grabbing the book from her hands to take a peek inside. She smiled at him, giving a nod.

"I really am." She responded. "I've been recently studying about Princess Kaguya, she's actually been one of my favorite people to read about." Realizing she was babbling, she flushed. "I-It's stupid. I get too carried away." She leaned on the bookshelf, and Inuyasha didn't look fazed.

"It's not stupid." He responded. "Tell me about her." Inuyasha wasn't one to be a real listener, but something about this girl made him want to listen to her speak.

Her face lit up, and she flipped through pages, showing pictures and pictures to him, rapidly explaining things. "Kaguya's name means the Goddess of Eternal Night. The demon gained celestial powers, and called herself a celestial being. She lived among the mortals, and wanted ot find a suitor, however she was unable to find the perfect one. At one point her family from the moon came to retreive her, and her mortal family was unable to protect her. She bid her friends and fellow villager farewell, wearing a feathered robe that is supposed to help her be at peace and forget her problems. And then she left for her return to the moon." She kept speaking, pointing to more pictures, Inuyasha nodding along the way, trying to keep up with her. "Part of me wonders if she ever wanted to return to the moon even though that is what she was destined to do." She looked at the book again, closing it gently as she spoke. "Sometimes you may have fate trying to get you to do something, but all of it depends on your wants and how you want to live your life. For example, if you were in love with someone, and the world wanted you to have nothing to do with each other, wouldn't you just say 'screw the world' and be with them anyways?"

He nodded slightly, a small smile spreading on his face. "Yeah, probably." The boy said. "The world wants you to take the safe route."

Kagome nodded. "The safe route sucks."

"It does." It wasn't until that moment that he noticed that she had really pretty eyes. Big doe eyes that had a chocolate brown in them. It was warm.

But it was like Kikyo's.

 _Kikyo..._

 _Why does she always have to come up in my head?_

Kagome tossed and turned again that night. For some reason, she had started to feel a weird connection to Inuyasha. A connection that just showed that he understood what she would say. It was nice to have this connection with someone, and as she looked at the stars outside her window, she wondered if he was looking at those same stars.

And as Inuyasha found sleep to be useless, he did the same.

xxx

 **AN: Hey guys, a little bit of progression, but don't worry. Not rushing any relationships ;) have a good days you guys! Review and Favorite**


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